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Gerald Green

Everytime I hear Gerald Green , I can't help but think how humble and greatful he sounds. It will be so easy to cheer for him. His outlook and attitude is so refreshing and hopefully other young players learn from his experience.

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Re: Gerald Green

I know, right? I was so struck by it I tweeted about it... then coincidentally a moment later Chris Denari checked his feed and read my tweet on the live stream about how passionate he seems. He just seems so grateful to be here. I'm happy for him. You know he's going to give us everything he can.

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Re: Gerald Green

Little but interesting factoid I found about Green on the Star:
Green was the 2007 NBA Slam Dunk champion despite not being able to palm a basketball. He lost much of his right ring finger when he was 11 in a freak accident while trying to dunk on a child's rim.

I never noticed this, anyone who got to see him noticed he's missing part of a finger? You mean to tell me he dunks like that without being able to palm a ball?

Re: Gerald Green

Little but interesting factoid I found about Green on the Star:
Green was the 2007 NBA Slam Dunk champion despite not being able to palm a basketball. He lost much of his right ring finger when he was 11 in a freak accident while trying to dunk on a child's rim.

I never noticed this, anyone who got to see him noticed he's missing part of a finger? You mean to tell me he dunks like that without being able to palm a ball?

He may still be able to palm the ball with the rest of his fingers, but he's definitely missing part of it. If you watch his hand while he's just running or walking or standing, you can see the obvious gap between his middle and pink fingers.

Truth!

I think Gerald is going to be heavily loved by PacerNation this year. And I think he's going to push for either 6th Man or Most Improved. Making him the focus of the offense off the bench is going to be wonderful. I am SO glad I campaigned for him to get signed. I love this guy.

Re: Gerald Green

He may still be able to palm the ball with the rest of his fingers, but he's definitely missing part of it. If you watch his hand while he's just running or walking or standing, you can see the obvious gap between his middle and pink fingers.

Truth!

I think Gerald is going to be heavily loved by PacerNation this year. And I think he's going to push for either 6th Man or Most Improved. Making him the focus of the offense off the bench is going to be wonderful. I am SO glad I campaigned for him to get signed. I love this guy.

Man, I never noticed it, thanks. Guess I have to watch him more accurately
It's got to be very strange, I can't imagine handling a ball without my ring finger, let alone shoot it or dunk it. I'm sure he's accustomed to it by now, but there still has to be some loss of sensibility there. Props to him for overcoming that issue.

Re: Gerald Green

At my age I'm surprised I still get excited about dunk contests but that 2-handed dunk from the free throw line by Flight was ridiculous! One of the top 3 dunks I've ever seen! He even had the nerve to double-clutch it. I wonder if Gerald or Paul George can pull that off?

Re: Gerald Green

When you’ve played in what amounts to basketball Siberia for the better part of three years, you have some stories. Gerald Green has plenty but, at least for the time being, he’s keeping them to himself.

“There’s just so many,” he said, shaking his head. “There’s a lot of stories I wouldn’t want to say because I wouldn’t want anybody to judge me. “

When you’re 26 years old and already have played for six NBA teams, two in Russia, one in China and one in the D-League, there also has been no shortage of judgment in your life, most of it unfavorable.

“You get high school kids who have no idea what this is all about, who have been lauded for how great they are,” said Pacers President Donnie Walsh. “They come in the league and they think they can play the way they did in high school and it takes awhile for them to realize, ‘No you can’t.’ ”

The realization has come for Green. The 6-8 swingman has created quite a buzz in Indiana’s training camp not only with his knack for spectacular plays but for his professionalism, unselfishness and – wait for it – maturity.

“The light went on,” Walsh said. “He had to go to China and Russia and one day he said to me he was looking in the mirror and said, ‘The next time I get a chance at the NBA I’m going to do whatever they tell me because I can’t be here any more. I want to be there.’ And he made good on it.”

Green scored 18 points in 27 minutes in the Pacers’ 96-91 victory over Minnesota Friday in Bankers Life Fieldhouse, playing a key role in the team’s game-turning 19-0 run in the fourth quarter. He also contributed six rebounds, four assists and two steals.

With three more preseason games this week, beginning Tuesday at home against Atlanta, Green will have ample opportunity to both demonstrate and measure his progress. The Pacers have been moving cautiously with Danny Granger and his sore knee, which creates plenty of opportunity for Green.

Through all the travels and travails, he believed he would get one more chance and pledged to make it stick. He started last season in China, was in training camp with the Lakers, wound up starring in the D-League and signed with the Nets. In 31 games, he averaged 12.9 points, shot 39 percent from the 3-point line and beyond the numbers showed he was ready to become not just a player but a teammate.

While the Nets made huge moves during the offseason, they quietly hoped to hang onto Green but the Pacers snatched him away as a free agent. And now, expected to play a key role off the bench on a team projected to contend for one of the top seeds in the Eastern Conference, Green has the chance he has been craving – and ultimately earned.

“I had to prove to myself, ‘Can I get back?’” he said. “I was reading a lot of the stuff people were saying about me about being a bust, how I’d never get back. Maybe that stuff was true but I never thought that. In my mind, I never thought I was a bust. I always thought I could play. When I did have the opportunity, I didn’t apply myself right.

“So I always thought the next time I got an opportunity, I’m going to apply myself the best I can and I’m not going to let it pass. That’s why I was a bust because when I had my chance I didn’t do anything with it.”

Like Granger, Green entered the 2005 NBA Draft with high hopes of being a lottery pick. Like Granger, he experienced the disappointment of sliding down the board. The Pacers took Granger at No. 17. Green went next to Boston.

Though Green put up respectable numbers with the Celtics, he was a wild colt, never fitting in. He was traded to Minnesota, traded to Houston, cut, and then signed by Dallas in 2008-09. When the Mavs let him go, Green headed overseas, where the hard lessons began.

“Things happen for a reason. The reason I went overseas, I guess it happened for me to get better and get to find myself again,” he said. “Once you’re a professional, sometimes you might not be as talented but you work hard every day at your game. You do the little things to make you better, watch film, get treatment on your body, eat healthy, get enough sleep, the things that make you mentally better and prepare you for the game.

“When somebody’s talented, they don’t necessarily need to do all that stuff. They can go work out a couple times and go out and give a guy 40 points. I’ve seen it happen many times. To me, that’s the difference between having talent and being professional. I need to work at both levels, I need to work on my skill level because I’m definitely not as skilled as a lot of guys and I need to be a better professional. Going overseas, I learned to do both.”

Bankers Life Fieldhouse may not look like the promised land but you’d be hard-pressed to convince Green otherwise. If he did not appreciate what it meant to be a professional in 2005, he surely does now.

He also appreciates a man only gets so many chances in life, and this just might be his last.

“Just from me being in Russia, being in China, being all over the place, for me it’s an amazing journey because a lot of people in life don’t get second chances,” Green said. “You know that, I know that, a lot of people in the world know that. By me getting a second chance in the best league in the world, that’s an amazing story in itself.”

It’ll do, for now.

Last edited by Strummer; 10-17-2012 at 01:35 PM.
Reason: Made the link more obvious.

Re: Gerald Green

So I had a chance to talk to Gerald Green on Wednesday 10/17 for about 5-7 minutes as a few players were appearing at Kroger on the NE side. I can honestly say he was extremly humble, fun to talk to and seems to really enjoy his time with the Pacers. We were talking about the season, how he is excited to be in Indy, and how he might put on a dunk show for the fans at Fan Jam on the 28th. But he was giving praise to his teammates and said Miles Plumlee is really talented and will be able to put it all together and become a good player. You could just tell that he was appreciative of the chance and was excited for the season. He was just a down-to-earth guy and I think the past few years have matured him and he knows that he has another chance to be in the NBA and is hungry. I've met countless professional athletes and he was one of the most humble that I have ever met. I'm glad he's wearing the blue and gold!

By the way, Miles Plumlee was passing out cookies. Seeing a 7 footer carrying around a pan of cookies = hilarious. But Miles, Gerald and Paul George were all super nice and gracious to the fans. Ian was bagging groceries, so I did not bother him. But I think the Pacers may do another event or two at Kroger, so I encourage you to watch their twitter feed and make the trek out!

Re: Gerald Green

So I had a chance to talk to Gerald Green on Wednesday 10/17 for about 5-7 minutes as a few players were appearing at Kroger on the NE side. I can honestly say he was extremly humble, fun to talk to and seems to really enjoy his time with the Pacers. We were talking about the season, how he is excited to be in Indy, and how he might put on a dunk show for the fans at Fan Jam on the 28th. But he was giving praise to his teammates and said Miles Plumlee is really talented and will be able to put it all together and become a good player. You could just tell that he was appreciative of the chance and was excited for the season. He was just a down-to-earth guy and I think the past few years have matured him and he knows that he has another chance to be in the NBA and is hungry. I've met countless professional athletes and he was one of the most humble that I have ever met. I'm glad he's wearing the blue and gold!

By the way, Miles Plumlee was passing out cookies. Seeing a 7 footer carrying around a pan of cookies = hilarious. But Miles, Gerald and Paul George were all super nice and gracious to the fans. Ian was bagging groceries, so I did not bother him. But I think the Pacers may do another event or two at Kroger, so I encourage you to watch their twitter feed and make the trek out!

Is this the Kroger at 79th and Fall Creek or another one? How do you know if they are going to be there?

Re: Gerald Green

sounds like he was served a few slices of humble pie. some guys don't handle that too well. some lose confidence and fall apart and other get resentful or simply never get it.
seems like he got it. granted it was only a preseason game that i saw from some highlight recently but, he made some legit tough shots and combine that with a humble, hardworking attitude (like roy's) and this guy looks like he could be a real help and not just another talented, full of himself knucklehead.
he's a pacer now and i will pull for him and i believe he will be a good addition for us.
welcome aboard mr. green and keep working hard!

Re: Gerald Green

I really need to get me a gerald green jersey. One of the best parts about our team is how much easier it is to cheer for them and how much they look like they generally enjoy doing what they're doing.

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Re: Gerald Green

Whenever I hear Gerald Green talk, he has nothing but good things to say about PS&E. I think he will be good for attracting fans with his good additude, yet still be a talented player at the same time.